Bear Children
by Jackie Robinson
Summary: What if the roles were reversed? What if Hana was the half-human and animal hybrid... a bear perhaps? What if Ookami was the student she meet and fell in love with by mistake? And what if he was left alone, when his spouse disappeared, to raise two children whose power he couldn't understand? *Warning Ame and Yuki will be a bit OC* (Rated T due to my want to not be banned)
1. Narrator's Note

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf Children as it is the proud property of Aoi Miyazaki, please support the official product and author.**

 _Prologue_

 _Let me tell you a story, maybe you'll laugh or write it off as a fairy tale. I mean there is no way on earth something like this could happen, it couldn't possibly be true. But maybe you'll believe it, the whole story form start to finish, because it's true every single word of it. It's the story of the legendary_ _Ookami Akamatsu,_ _my father, and the woman who gave birth to us, our mother. The woman he loved so much that he was willing to see past her "real" self, and not hate her even after she broke his heart. So yeah maybe you won't believe me because this story couldn't be true, it must've been made up to see how gullible you are. But that doesn't matter, just because it sounds weird doesn't mean it's not true...So are you still with me...Good, but just in case you're still skeptical just remember that truth is often stranger than fiction._


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf Children as it is the proud property of Aoi Miyazaki, please support the official product and author.**

"Hi"= speaking

 _"Hi"= thinking_

 **"HI!"= Yelling or loud sounds**

Chapter 1

The bright spring sun shone in through the windows casting its gentle rays down on all those who stumbled into its path. That was until it reached the windows of the city's local university where it's limitless Rays were forced into the tall windows that the building boasted. Then the golden Rays were only able to bath the lucky few that sat its path with the warmth that the sun across the land of which it was mentioned, the Land of the Rising Sun. One of the lucky few who were able to be in the path of the warm rays was Ookami Akamatsu, who currently was taking notes on the last lecture of the year before the final exams would begin. Already a senior in the midst of receiving a bachelor's degree Ookami, like most student of his age with his grades, was considering continuing for a master's degree as well. Or at least he had been when that last semester of the year had begun, of course that was before he saw her.

She was old, older then him by no more then 3 years, but she was still stunning none the less. With her fudge brown hair and perfect white skin, when he'd first seen her in the beauty of the sun's rays he thought he was seeing his sister or what she may have grown up to be,as she was long dead like the rest of his family. Of course that was why at that moment he'd been thinking about obtaining a master's degree, so he could survive and possibly be a good catch for a future wife and be married. But when he saw her, his mind went blank. It was then that he began watching and noticing patterns of her attendance, she'd arrive late and leave early, never filled out an attendance slip, and seldom took any notes. That was what she was doing today, like all the other days, just sitting occasionally looking up and maybe writing something down, but mostly sitting with her hand under her chin.

 _'Maybe she's just thinking'_ Ookami thought, the notion coming from the part of his brain which allowed for reason to be formulated. Ookami had been like that since he was a child, he was a thinker not fighter. When he was little his father often brought him books, big books, beautiful books with large beautiful words that told large beautiful stories, and soon made his think large things. For show and tell Ookami would bring his newest book, most of which were written by foreign authors, and quickly earned him the distrust of a great deal of his classmates as they often couldn't relate to him and a product of this was Ookami's weakness in the realm of socializing. This however slowly began to erode away when at the age of 11 he began playing baseball, a hobby which he turned out to be good at and got him a good deal of friends. But in the end he inevitably returned to his first love, that being literature, and in doing so managed to gain the interest of a good many youth writing organizations and then colleges. It was then that Ookami's young sister Aki died, only being 13 years old, she was a young girl very full of life but her death was not to be the last in his family as his mother and father both died of the flu, his father bird and his mother swine. Luckily Ookami avoided either disease but this avoidance had come only after receiving a laundry list of painful injections which condemned him to a life solitude as his family was his greatest pillar in life.

It was then that the bell rang, signalling the end of class and causing Ookami to look over his shoulder to check to see if the woman was still there, and she was.

 _"She'll have to fill out an attendance slip now, since she's stayed long enough to have the chance to fill one out'_ Ookami thought as he walked to the front of the class before filling out his own attendance slip. His assumption however was wrong, a rare occurrence, as he turned after turning in the attendance slip he noticed that the girl had headed towards the front of the classroom like the other students, but instead had gone to the back and looked as if she was intending to use the rear entrance as he exit. Seeing this Ookami sprang into action, grabbing a attendance slip and then moving around the crowd before running to where the girl had just exited. Upon exiting the classroom Ookami instinctively looked right and saw he making her way down the back stairs, which eventually lead to the main hall, and proceeded to follow her for a few paces before deciding to use a different; better method.

"Excuse me, miss" Ookami shouted catcher the girl's attention and causing her to look up and see him "you forgot something".

"And what would that be?" the girl asked he voice inquiring a questioning tone that seemed to be challenging the relevance of Ookami's claim. Her skin and hair hadn't changed a bit since when he'd first seen her, as for her height she'd always been sitting down when he'd seen her so could have grown anywhere from 1 to 10 centimeters or not at all and he wouldn't have known. But what fascinated him most were her eyes, they were dark hazel colored and looked like they were bored, bot because of him but because of what she'd seen had made it so that she now thought noting of seeing anything at all.

"Well you see you forgot to fill out an attendance slip" Ookami began before mentally chiding himself "if you don't know how I can help you, I admit that the first time it was confusing for me to-".

"I don't go to this school" the girl shot back before turning away from Ookami, her tone and aura saying the same thing **Leave Me Alone!**

"Well if you're attending a different school then the slip can tell them where you were so they don't think you ditched" Ookami added, trying to just get to her to look at him so that he could have her attention again.

"You're not going to let me off the hook until I sign that stupid paper are you?" the girl asked in a rhetorical tone that somehow was begging for an answer.

"Well ideally yes" Ookami began before pulling out a pen "but if you really don't feel comfortable I can do it for you, but that is not the desired method I wish to use". When Ookami finished his sentence the woman was making her was up the stairs and before could start another sentence she was right in front of him, imposing her full height on him. Ookami was a man of middle height and normally thought very little of it, but that was until now when this woman whose name he didn't know was standing at least 2 centimeters taller than him. But despite how his instincts told him to step back, he did nothing of the sort, and held his ground before putting he pen he had to the paper at hand.

"Hana" she stated, plain and simple, giving what seemed like a pause for him to write it down before continuing on. It was no problem for Ookami to do so as he simply wrote her name almost as quickly as she stated it, maybe even quicker.

"Okay and last name?" Ookami asked receiving only silence as a reply. For a few candid seconds they stood there both of them staring at the other, waiting, watching, neither reacting to anything that went on around them.

 _'She has a last name right?"_ Ookami mentally questioned before mentally chiding himself.

 _'Of course she has a last name'_ Ookami thought before shifting his thoughts again. Before he could continue and explain that the last name was also required he was beat to the punch by the woman asking him a question.

"What's your name?" she asked inquisitively.

"Ookami" Ookami replied.

"Your parents name you wolf?" Hana asked raising an eye brow.

"Well you see- "Ookami never got to finish as Hana cut him off.

"You interest me" she said causing Ookami to suddenly lose his train of thought.

"Wait…. what?" he could only squeak out as Hana turned away.

"I know this is sudden but I have to go, we can continue this tonight at 6 pm at the restaurant across the street if you wish, regardless I'll be there" she said, once again moving the conversation in a shocking direction "good day". With that she walked down the steps silently and made her way out and away from the classroom as if nothing worth noting had transpired. Ookami stood in a daze with the slip still in his palm and the pen still in his hand poised to write the woman's last name, a name he still didn't have. In mere minutes Ookami's goal of at least obtaining the woman's name to satisfy his curiosity had ended in a date, or at least a last minute get together between acquaintances. As Ookami awoke from his daze and re-entered the classroom to turn in the attendance slip he found himself developing a warm feeling in his stomach. It was a feeling that stemmed from the idea that he'd stumbled across something big, something that could change his life, and now the only question was whether or not he would accept its invitation to be in his life.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf Children as it is the proud property of Aoi Miyazaki, please support the official product and author.**

"Hi"= speaking

 _"Hi"= thinking_

 **"HI!"= Yelling or loud sounds/ Narrating**

Chapter 2

The next few hours were a blur to Ookami as he more or less sleep walked through his last two classes of the day trying to fully analyze, or more likely accept, what had just happened to him. Somehow without intending to do so he was going to attend a date, or informal dinner, with a beautiful woman that he'd just meet and who openly said to him that he "Interested her".

 _"What could she possibly mean I 'interest her'?"_ Ookami thought as he made his way back to his tiny apartment through the tight, but extremely tidy, back streets that laid the way to the apartment. The street was littered with small hole in the wall noodle eateries, sushi shops, and other assortments of Japanese (and the occasional foreign) cuisine. It was not one of the ideal places to raise a family not because of high crime rates, mass poverty, or low income but because the street was a descent representation of the building Ookami lived in as a whole, small. Ookami non-the less opened the bottom door of the building and slowly made his up the three flights of stairs that were between him and his apartment, arriving there after a descent 7 minute exercise of walking up the stairs. The apartment itself was the small; yet incredibly snug as it had a kitchenette, a small sitting room, one bedroom, a water closet, a small refrigerator, a small freezer, two cabinets, and a closet. It was from this small cabinet that Ookami pulled out a plastic cup, ice cubes from the manual tray in his freezer and then filled it up with water from his tap.

As he slowly sipped from his cup he looked over the notes that he'd taken in that day of class, going through and making corrections whenever things needed to be corrected. Ookami could lose himself when doing this, reading and then re-reading what was written ,it was one of the many reasons why his teachers kept suggesting that he become a writer despite how he truly had nothing to write about, nothing interesting at least. Ookami knew that he'd subconciously lost track of time when he looked over to the small clock on his kitchen stove and made out the time, 5:55.

 _"Oh no I over studies again!"_ Ookami instantly thought before quickly standing up and then dumped his glass in the sink before throwing a coat on and then quickly dashing out of the apartment and hurrying down the stairs of the building, throwing the very real threat of twisting his ankle because of the tightness of the stairwell, to the wind. Ookami dashed through the small alley in front of his house to the main road and then sprinted down the street back to the university in order not to be late for his one chance of getting to know more about the woman named Hana he'd just meet. He caught several breaks, managing to have several crosswalks flash the sign for pedestrians to cross right when he got to the crosswalk, which sped up his progress towards the restaurant. His luck ran out when he reached the crosswalk right before the restaurant where he had to stop and wait for 6 whole minutes before the crosswalk sign finally changed in his favor and he then ran over to the restaurant and entered. He glanced around the small traditional Japanese restaurant with a conveyor belt that brought various plates of food from the kitchen and was populated by 3 wait staff( 1 waiter and 2 waitresses) and several patrons.

It wasn't until he took a second look around that he saw her sitting and sipping from a glass that contained nothing but water. After taking several deep calming breaths he briskly approached her until he was standing right next to her.

"Is this seat taken?" Ookami asked causing her to look up to him before quietly nodding and then he proceeded to sit down next to her and open the menu and then glance at the menu to find a drink.

"So you came" she said, Ookami wasn't sure if she was asking or simply stating a fact, but regardless he felt the need to reply.

"Yeah, I mean you invited me and I didn't really have anything else to do this evening" Ookami replied as the waiter walked up to him and asked for his drink to which Ookami ordered Tea.

"Tea?" Hana asked skeptically as she looked at him.

"Tea has lots of nutrients and also costs less than most carbonated drinks restaurants offer" Ookami replied.

"Water costs less though" Hana added causing Ookami proceeded to shrug.

"I prefer some taste to none" Ookami replied before reaching up and puling a roll off of the conveyor belt and then taking it's protective cup off. It was then that he noticed that Hana had not done anyhting but stare at the food in front of her at the food that lay on the conveyor belt hungrily.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Ookami asked as he rubbed his chop sticks together but didn't begin to eat.

"I don't need to eat it in order to know how good it tastes" Hana replied, causing Ookami to stare blankly unsure of what she was trying to stay.

"But you look hungry" Ookami countered trying to understand what she leading on, trying to find out if she was genuinely meaning what she said or just trying to be weird.

"But I'm not" Hana replied, trying to force her way off the topic.

"Look if you forgot your money or are short a little bit I can pay for your meal now and you can pay me later" Ookami said trying to get a descent answer. As he said this he saw her almost wince and then attempt to look away as if she was skirting the problem or at least hoped that he wouldn't be able see the look on her face.

"Are you sure? I mean you don't know me, I could be playing you" she asked as the waiter returned to them with Ookami's tea and then left.

" You seem like a good person and plus, even if you are playing me you can't play me for that much since I'm also kind of short on cash" Ookami replied before scratching the back of his head. What Ookami was referring to was the economic resources provided from his father's and mother's will, most of which he'd put into his bank account weeks after their funeral and by now their seeming meager funds at the time had multiplied to being more than somewhat sustaining when rationed correctly.

"O-okay" Hana replied before carefully taking a plate that donned a suchi roll with salmon and opened it before eating it.

"How does it taste?" Ookami asked before taking a bite of his own meal. Hana slowly looked up at him before giving off a noticeable twinkle in her eyes which begged a smile, a smile that he knew she wouldn't give despite only knowing her for a few hours.

"Delicious, I've never tasted such good salmon in my life, it tastes better than the ones I've caught" she declared, he voice more lively than when they'd originally meet.

"Wait, you caught a salmon?" Ookami said, almost spitting out his food as he did so. Seeming to realize her mistake Hana instantly took a more defensive stance.

"No, no,no I mean my friend caught it and I ate it and then I thought that I...you see-" Hana instantly began stuttering, floundering in her attempt to explain what she meant. Luckily Ookami raised a hand causing Hana to stop and give what seemed to be a sort of look of relief.

"It's okay, you don't have to explain, just enjoy the meal" Ookami replied causing Hana to grab two more dishes of suchi, one salmon and one tuna, and then continue eating. As much as Ookami did truly want to find out what she;d meant, he didn't want to scare her away. If she was hiding something he didn't want to find it out at the price of losing her, she'd already proven to be more interesting than he originally thought. The rest of the meal was spent with the two conversing on what they'd thought of college, their families (mostly Hana's family as Ookami's was mostly deceased by now), and then after paying the bill Hana wrote down the amount of money she owed to Ookami before the two departed each other for the evening, promising to set up another get together tomorrow at school.

As Ookami laid himself down on his futon that night, hands clasped behind his head staring blankly at the ceiling Ookami's thoughts swirled around in his head. What had Hana meant when she'd said that the salmon was better tasting than the ones she'd caught? Why did she have such a secretive aura about her?Why oh why was she so interesting?And how could he keep her from eventually cutting communication from him?

 _"One day at a time Ookami, one day at a time"_ he thought before rolling onto his side an going to sleep.

 **My father didn't know it at the time but all his questions would be answered and the adventure he'd be thrust into would be worth every moment it consumed.**

Hey everybody Jackie here, I just wanted to tell everyone that reviews are the best way for me know how much you like the story and what your opinions on it are. My only warning is that this story is fun to write and I want the reviews to be positive or constructive so that every can have just as much fun reading it. 


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf Children as it is the proud property of Aoi Miyazaki, please support the official product and author.**

"Hi"= speaking

 _"Hi"= thinking_

 **"HI!"= Yelling or loud sounds/ Narrating**

Chapter 3

For the next week or so Ookami focused all the time at school he wasn't using to get and education as a way to get Hana to the classes that she wanted to attend, this required a broad array of tactics which ranged from sneaking her in half way through class or as long an hour before the class was populated to simply walking through the front class room door together. It was after one of their daily escapades that Ookami found himself and Hana sitting outside of the school, each breathing heavily and silently casting a grin in the direction of the other before returning to looking away from each other. they stayed that way for a few more minutes before Hana finally stood up and offered an hand to Ookami.

"Would you like some help up?" she asked, the smile on her face a rare site to see. Knowing this Ookami allowed her to help him up and proceeded to stretch out his back and keep on doing so until he heard the satisfying "pop" that he was waiting to hear after this he relaxed and shouldered his backpack.

"So where would you like to go for dinner?" Ookami asked before looking into Hana's face causing her to hesitate and look off to the side before looking back at him.

"Where would you like to go?" she asked, seeming to want to get out of the situation she found herself facing.

"Well there was a little place which I hear other students go to for a change of pace, how about there?" Ookami suggested casually offering a slight shrug as he did so.

"Okay, what is it called?" Hana asked before she reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper to write on.

"I'm not sure really, I didn't really catch its name, but if you swing by my place sometime around 7:00 I might be able to find out more by then, all I know is that they have some of the best fish in this city" Ookami replied. It was almost impossible to not see the twinkle in Hana's eye at the mention of the fish there being extremely good for anyone who knew her well to do so, and to be honest few could claim such a title, it would be on the lines of denying that nuclear power existed. Ookami then gave Hana his apartment's address and apartment number before the two proceeded to go there separate ways. It was on this that they proceeded to depart, on extremely good terms and not doubting where this relationship could go, but the true question was if they would be successful getting there or not.

A few hours passed and Ookami found himself at the local internet café browsing through restaurants in the local area that may have bore a similar resemblance in the menu they offered, their size, and their location, to the place that he'd heard other students speaking of. Much to his frustration, but not displeasure, there was only one such restaurant that fit the bill of the descriptions that he'd listed and that was a small Vietnamese restaurant close to the "foreign section" of the university district. Like most Japanese children Ookami had naturally learned English, planning to possibly move to America to sell a book on one of the many story ideas he had, he'd also learned Mandarin Chinese due to the fact two Chinese speaking nations were extremely close and he'd wanted to be able to sell his novels there too, maybe live there if need be, but his luck ran put when it came to Southeast Asian languages. They were immensely different from the Chinese he'd learned and hey had nothing in common with the English he'd learned earlier and after nearly 3 years attempting to learn Vietnamese and having no such luck he finally gave up and went back to practicing and perfecting his Chinese. But as far as he could tell the place did seem as good as the students he'd heard speaking about it had claimed, and he'd already told Hana that was where they were going, so he'd have to put up with it for just one night. Checking his watch he quickly printed off directions to the restaurant before getting out of his search engine and then turned to go back to his tiny apartment and hopefully get everything ready.

 _'I've got 55 minutes until she shows up, I better at least attempt to look nice'_ Ookami thought as he made the already short 5 minute walk from the café to his house faster due to an incredibly brisk pace. Upon arriving at his apartment Ookami proceeded to do his hair, put on a set of semi-formal clothes and hoes, brush his teeth, and then pull out the paper with the directions on it before he began to memorize the route. His memorization, only half done, was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on the door and opened it to see Hana standing before him in here normal attire, save for the fact she had an additional blue checker patterned scarf that had not been there before.

"Oh please come in" Ookami said before stepping aside and allowing Hana to come in. He could see the seemingly endless sea of marvel that was held hostage by her face as she looked across his apartment in one direction then the other.

"It's really clean" Hana began, the fact seeming to be the center of her focus "much cleaner than my place". As much as Ookami wanted to ask her what her "place" looked and like and where it was, for he'd been wondering this for many weeks now, he kept his mouth shut and took the compliments as they came.

"Thank you, but we should get going if we want to get to the restaurant sometime soon, the streets are very busy and the foot traffic from so many people going home will make this stroll rather long" Ookami replied, causing Hana to turn around and blush profusely.

"R-right o-o-of course" Hana replied before turning and walking back through the door with Ookami following her. Truthfully Ookami had been wrong, the street traffic was not busy and the foot traffic nowhere near as heavy a he'd predicted, in fact their only major cause for delay was because Hana insisted on visiting a little book shop to briefly browse through the available novels. But still they arrived rather early to the place and waited hardly any time at all to be seated, which was rather unusual to Ookami seeing how they'd made no attempt to beat the dinner rush in any way.

 _'Maybe this place has no dinner rush?'_ Ookami thought as he was kindly handed a menu from a waitress before beginning to look at the drink menu. They ordered Jasmine tea, which came in an especially large pot, and soon found out why afterwards. While their seating and drinks had been quickly served to them their food took a rather long time to make it's way to them, but in the end the two did receive their respective meals, noodles for Ookami and fish for Hana, and ate them contently and with great vigor. After finishing their meal and paying the bill the two went out on a walk over to a bridge, upon Hana's request, which during the day time was always packed with people but at night it was the opposite. The bridge was silent and empty, not even a homeless person was willing to take up residency on it, and that could have been due to the winds which gave the bridge a warm romantic feel during the day but a cold cynical one at night.

"So what was it you wanted to tell me?" Ookami asked as he leaned against the railing of the bridge, a confident worry-free smile being sported by his face.

"Well, Ookami" Hana began to reply, beginning to run here hands together nervously as she looked down "I haven't been entirely honest wit you". Ookami was taken back by this, sure Hana was by no means the most open person he'd ever meet but that by no means meant that she was intentionally misleading she was just...shy...right?

"Why do you say that?" Ookami asked in response, putting more of his weight on the bridge railing.

"Well you see I'm not really, well what I'm trying to say is that I have a secret that I've been hiding from you for my own benefit and I can tell that you have been more or less completely honest with me and now I have to be the same with you" Hana replied as she hugged herself. In the past Ookami had noticed that Hana had always kept her emotions bottled up and never disclosed anything, but now she seemed so conflicted and afraid he wanted to reach out and touch shoulder or arm and show her he cared.

"I want you to close your eyes so I can do this and then open them when I tell you to" Hana instructed, a firm tone in her voice. Ookami, wanting to honor Hana's wishes, did exactly what she asked. For a few seconds there was silence, nothing to indicate that she was still there until a meek little voice called out.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now" Hana's voice called out and then he proceeded to do exactly that. Ookami did so and the sight before him was overwhelming. In the place where Hana once stood was a strange mixture of a human and a bear. Her once milky white skin had been replaced by dark chocolate brown fur, her nose had gotten larger & longer to form a snout like shape and was black, her hands were bigger and sported claws, she'd grown by 6 or so inches making her even taller than she was before. But despite all this change one thing on her body stayed the same, her eyes, they didn't change at all and it was that small detail that made him unafraid at the wild beast in front of him.

 _'No, not a wild beast Hana'_

"Hana?" Ookami asked bringing his though to life as he stood there, staring at her unrelentingly.

"O-Ookami" Hana seemed to call whilst she extended a paw, trying to break her friend from his trance.

"Y-yes" Ookami asked as he seemed to snap awake when the paw caressed his cheek.

"Are you afraid of me now?" Hana asked, the fear slowly returning to her voice. Ookami reacted faster than he thought he could, gently putting both of his hands on Hana's arm and grasping its brown fur. This was partially to comfort Hana and partially to re-affirm that he was indeed sane and it was in that instant a far off question in the back of his mind which had bugged him was then answered. _Do you love her?_

"What? No Hana never think such a thing ever, I like you, no I love you and this won't change a thing" Ookami replied, gripping the fur firmer. It was with to this that Hana responded by transforming back into her smaller self, still standing in the same position as before, and smiled and began to weep.

"My parents always told me that there should only be one human I ever tell this to, the one I love" she began, using her free arm to wipe the tears from her eyes "because unlike human-wolf hybrids we're more vulnerable to our instincts that's why there are so few of us, most die young". The thought of loosing Hana before ever really getting to show her his love shook Ookami to his core.

"What are you and your parents?" Ookami asked, trying to ask an offensive question as friendly as possible.

"Bear-human hybrids, despite what you humans and your movies say there's almost a hybrid family for every animal on earth, save snakes and ocean life" Hana replied before walking towards Ookami and offering a friendly hug that he returned without hesitation. The two walked back the way they'd come, hands held tightly, their love flowing freely, the light from their optimism at the life they could have shining brightly. It was on that night that they began their lives of co-habitation with one another, as they gleefully enjoyed each other's presence by declaring their love for each other the way many honey moon couples did, and they did so without hesitation for they knew that their love was life long and would live until they died.

 **My father didn't know it yet but that would be the last day of his life in which he could enjoy true normality and unquestioned peace of mind.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf Children as it is the proud property of Aoi Miyazaki, please support the official product and author.**

"Hi"= speaking

 _"Hi"= thinking_

 **"HI!"= Yelling or loud sounds/ Narrating**

Chapter 4

It was early the next morning when the bright sun's ray's shone through the shut blinds over Ookami's windows to land on his eye that Ookami finally woke up. The stiffness that permeated from his neck was excruciating, not in the painful way more in the area of annoyance, and he raised himself up from his bed, squinting to protect his eyes from the light. It was while he squinted that he began to finally was begin to survey the state that his bedroom was in. His bed was a complete mess, the blankets were tossed & turned all over the place, one of the three pillows on his bed was on his desk, and there was a claw mark on the headboard he was positive hadn't been there the previous morning. Thought on a second glance Ookami was able to see that the claw marks did look awfully well place and in the end didn't lower the visible value of the said headboard, in the end it may have added to its value.

 _'What happened last night?'_ Ookami thought to himself as he completely sat us and put his back against the headboard. It was then that he heard a groan and looked down at the space next to him and realized that there was another person lying in his bed next to him. It took a few more seconds for him to realize that this person was in fact Hana and that she was, or at least looked to be, fast asleep and completely unawares of the where she was sleeping.

 _'O kami, I actually did it'_ Ookami thought as he put his hand up to his face and began to attempt to recall the previous events of the night. Fortunately for Ookami his mind hadn't failed to capture the events of the previous evening in its memory and was able to play them back for him. Unfortunately all had come to pass just as Ookami had feared and he let out a sigh of uncertainty as he attempted to understand.

 _'Okay there's about 4 weeks until graduation so even if Hana did conceive it's highly unlikely that it'll seriously effect my ability to graduate and provide for her. But what if she doesn't see it that way?'_ Ookami nervously thought to himself. He was ripped from his musing by the sound of Hana beginning to awake and looked over just in time to see Hana open her eyes and look at him. For about three or four seconds there was nothing but dead silence between the two and this caused Ookami to think that they were in one of those anime's that he'd seen on television his whole life and that he and Hana would soon begin to shout at each other trying to deduce their current situation.

"Good morning" Hana said, breaking the silence and taking Ookami by surprise.

"Go-go-good morning" Ookami replied as Hana began to rise, adding more evidence to the case of them making soup the previous evening as she was completely nude. Hana let out a yawn and stretched her back before putting her head onto his chest and then closing her eyes.

"Did you enjoy it?" she asked, her eyes still closed. That was good for Ookami because she couldn't see how surprised he was.

"Well yes I-I-I did" Ookami replied a blush beginning to come onto his face as he scratched his face with a finger as the memories came back to him.

"Uh Hana could we possibly talk about something?" Ookami asked causing Hana to look up at him with a questioning look.

"Yeah sure what is it" Hana replied as she took her head off of his chest.

"Well you see, since we well...did it, I was thinking that we should think about possibly consider living together and maybe getting married?" Ookami asked earning a thoughtful look from Hana.

"Ookami you don't understand spirit bears don't get married and even then they mate for life marriage doesn't even cover how devoted the couple should be" Hana replied as she got out of bed "that's why most of my kind don't get married in human terms we just mate".

"Well I'd be willing to mate with you for life" Ookami replied attempting to put on underwear and follow her at the same time.

"Ookami you're so kind and loving, even though you don't know what you're getting yourself into" Hana said as she stopped in the door frame only for Ookami to catch up to her and giver her a hug from behind.

"Hana I don't care what I'm signing up for, I love you and that's all that matters" Ookami replied. If Ookami had been able to look at Hana from the front he would've seen the two tears that began to make their way down her cheeks as she smiled.

"Okay then I guess we're officially mates" Hana declared, before turning around and kissing Ookami right on the lips.

 **My father often looked back on that day and told us that even if he knew what was to come he still would've become my mother's mate and still been willing to take care of the woman he loved, mother of the children he'd soon see.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf Children as it is the proud property of Aoi Miyazaki, please support the official product and author.**

"Hi"= speaking

 _"Hi"= thinking_

 **"HI!"= Yelling or loud sounds/ Narrating**

Chapter 5

Ookami stared almost blankly out the window of the train as it sped deep into the Japanese countryside with its pay load of young adults, students, and families who intended to take advantage of the free day they had and use it to take a day trip to the country. The countryside looked extremely beautiful as it rushed by his gaze, causing him to not be able to take in each individual aspect of it very long but nonetheless able to realize the immense beauty that it possessed. The sound of Hana shifting next to him got his attention and he turned to see her sitting in the seat next to him with one hand holding the old, battered, black and white picture she possessed and the other one subconsciously placed on her belly. It had been surprising when two weeks after Hana revealed herself to him she found out that she was pregnant with what he had absolutely no doubt was his child and it was also then that Hana finally decided to give him more information in regards to her childhood.

(Flashback)

"So where should we raise them?" he'd remembered asking as the two sat on the small couch in his living room. It had been a little over a week since Hana had come to him with the news that she was pregnant with Ookami's child and the two had already began to contemplate their lives as parents.

"I don't know where, but I know that I can't raise them here or anywhere in the city" Hana replied before looking up from her stomach and staring into Ookami's eyes.

"How do you know we can't raise them here?" Ookami asked before adding "the city would be a good place, their scents would be well hidden, and they'd have other children to play with-".

"I know what it's like to live in the city as a child with my powers, I did it almost all my childhood, Ookami you have to listen to me" she replied while firmly gripping onto his shoulder "when I grew up here I felt so alone, so trapped, so alone, I never knew if I could trust anyone because of my secret, and that was why I was so alone, and that's why I was hiding in the back of the classroom, I wanted to learn without being seen...like I was the rest of my life. Ookami looked into her eyes and knew that she was telling the truth because never in all their time of being together, outside of when she revealed her animal form to him, he'd never seen so much determination mixed with so much fear in her eyes.

"Alright then, but if we can't raise them here then where can we?" he asked before rising to get a glass of water to drink. As he did this he heard the sound of items rustling in a bag and when he turned around, glass in hand, he saw her sitting their holding a picture.

"Here" she answered reaching to hand him the picture as he neared and then took the image from her "here's where we'll raise them". The picture was of a small village in the shadow of a mountain, the village was surrounded great amounts of greenery; fields, trees, crops, shrubs, and large forests peaked at the edges of the picture.

"Do you know where this village is?" Ookami asked earning a head shake of disappointment from Hana.

"It was the village I grew up in from when I was 10, but the photo was taken a while back and I haven't been there since" she replied before adding "I have memories there that I don't want to be resurfaced".

"Well then, I have this weekend off so I think that then would be a good time to investigate what this town supposedly looks like" Ookami suggested.

"If we can find it" Hana added, resurfacing the obvious fact that they did not know where the village was or eve how to get to it.

"Yes, if we find it" Ookami replied before reaching over, grabbing the remote, and turning on the small TV set that was in the house and turning it to the news.

(Flashback End)

"Ookami" Hana whispered, her gentle voice making its way up to Ookami's ears and almost instantly getting his attention. With that Ookami looked up at her face and caused her gentle eyes to stare into his, love emulating from them in unashamed waves.

"What is it?" Ookami replied, his voice as quiet and soft as her's causing her to return his reply with a smile.

"We're here" she answered, her gaze now shifting from his face to the window behind him prompting him to also turn around and see the immense land scape behind him. The seemingly dominating rice fields were gone now, and no doubt had been for a little while as he probably failed to notice, and we're instead replaced by forests and a mountain.

"This place has a good aura around it" Ookami whispered to Hana as he turned to face her, a smile shining on his face and giving off a feeling of warmth.

"I know and that's why I want to raise the Cubs here with you,must the two of us" she replied, causing Ookami to give a smile.

"Well us and the neighbors" he added causing Hana to return his smile with one of her own.

"Yes but there'll be so few of them that they won't be a bother" she said, ending the conversation as the train came to a halt and the two rose from their seats and promptly got off of it.

 _'Today is a good day'_ Ookami thought as they exited the train and began to make their way down the train station to the road way where they hopped to pick up a taxi and have a good look around the area before having to return home. Upon exiting the train station the two of them easily found a taxi cab that was willing to take them anywhere they wanted to go as long as it was within a reasonable distance. Their first stop was to the village center where they examined things such as how the good local school, where was the local clinic, the market, the local activities for young children, everything pertaining to the life they intended to build there.

"And this is where the majority of the villagers work" the tour guid seeming declared before widely sweeping her arms to show the broad open spaces dotted by small farms.

"So they're farmers?" Ookami asked, attempting to draw a connection between what was being said and what was being shown.

"Yes indeed they are, but don't worry they're on th friendlier side once you get to know them" the lady began before adding "though one must keep in mind the fact that they rarely get people moving her, most people move away". It was at that moment when Ookami cast a hidden look at Hana and realized something, she wasn't smiling. She seemed troubled, sad, scared... worry some almost...Why?

 _'I wonder what's wrong, I know with Hana prying is seldom the best option, but what other choice do I have?'_ Ookami bought as Hana proceeded to look at him again with that smile of hers, a smile that seemed to be full of decite.

 _'She seems to be so focused now, I wouldn't want to distract her, I'll ask her when we're on the train back home; it should be private enough since we'll be taking the night train'_ Ookami thought to himself as They continued their stroll through the village. The tour and later general stroll took them to see everything, with Hana wanting to spend extra time at the local butcher's shop. Before they knew it, it was lunch time and the two sat on the local green not too far from the village and opened up the lunch they'd packed. Their meal's size was also increased due to a few items that Hana had convinced Ookami to buy, a couple bits of meat and some locally made cheese (as it seemed one of the farmers owned a dairy farm).

"What a beautiful place" Ookami said before taking a bite into his bento as he looked onwards across the forestry green.

"Isn't it? Imagine our children being able to grow up in a place like this, a place filled with options, hope, and maybe understanding" Hana added as she let another smile in habit her face. All Ookami could do was smile in return, attempting to convince her that he hadn't seen the look of concern on her face earlier in their little at trip so that he could ask her about it when they returned to the city in the evening. The two of them sat there, quietly eating their lunches whilst they watched the afternoon sun as it illuminated the greenery that lay before them. With their meals now finished they cleaned up and re-packed their things before leaving to do more exploring. Their journey this time took them on a private journey and focused more so on the forests and the animals that in habited it. Every few meters they'd be forced to stop so Hana could sniff the air and check the scent to identify the animals that lived in the surrounding woods.

"Are you sure you need to keep doing this? I thought you said that the area would be safe for our children?" Ookami asked he watched Hana take a few steps off the beaten trail o she could get a proper whiff of the scent in this area. The two were now on their way to exiting the woods and retuning to the road that was not too far away from their current position to begin to head back into town and head home from their. The whole journey through the local woods would've probably taken no more than 20 minutes, half an hour at most, but due to these frequent stops the time had dragged on and was now somewhere between 1 hour and 10 minutes and 1 hour and a half.

"The area is safe I just want to be sure, things can change in a few months my love and I want to make sure that not a large amount of the animals are carrying off spring so that we won't have to meet any defensive parents protecting their young whilst we have our children here" Hana replied before taking in anther breath of air. In doing this they'd managed to determine that there were indeed a lot of animals near by, none of them seemed to be bears, and at least from what they could tell few if any were carrying off spring. With the last deep breath Hana displayed a smile before turning around and rejoining Ookami on the trail and then turning to lead him back to the road. It was nearly dark when the two of them reached the town's train station and as they had planned they came to find themselves sitting on the bench at the station alone. Due to the fact Hana was pregnant Ookami volunteered to take the first watch to see when the train arrived. It was while doing this that Ookami found himself casting an eye down at his hopefully soon to be wife as she lay sleeping.

 _'Remember when you ask her about why she looked so down earlier I have to bee gentle about it and above all else not push her_ _'_ he thought as out of the corner of his eye he say the head light of a train coming their way. With a soft nudge Ookami woke up Hana and the two climbed aboard the train after letting a passenger disembark form the train. After climbing aboard, showing their tickets, and settling into their seats Ookami decided that it was time for him to ask the question about Hana's emotion's earlier that day.

"Hana" he began as he looked at his hands "I know you'd never intentionally hide something from me if it was possibly deadly or hurtful to one of us but I need you to be honest with me". As he said this he saw that Hana was now looking at him, a certain unsureness beginning to rise within her eyes, but none the less he proceeded on.

"Why were you so scared looking earlier when we were in the village?" he finished asking causing her to look down for a few seconds before replying.

"Ookami, there's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time...something very important" Hana began before biting her lip.

"What is it?" Ookami asked grabbing a hold of her hand "you know I won't leave you over something this simple".

"Well it's we hybrid bear's one weakness when it comes to raising our young..." Hana said, her voice now beginning to waiver more and more.

 _'Hana please, don't hold this much stress on you, please share it with me...share it with me now'_ Ookami thought as he looked into her eyes, hoping for the reason to for her suffering to made clear to him.

 **It was on that day that my father learned something from our mother, something that he only recently told me, it was to be the reason why his role as a father would be so thoroughly tested and so completely enlarged. But ultimately it would be why it was to be so unforgettable.**

Hello everybody it's Jackie here, nice cliff hanger right? Well think of it as my present for all you guys over Thanksgiving; I want you guys to think about what Hana could've told Ookami and then when I reveal it the truth will be that much sweeter for you guys. I wish you all a very good, peaceful, safe, and enjoyable Thanks giving.

Sincerely,

Jackie Robinson


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf Children as it is the proud property of Aoi Miyazaki, please support the official product and author.**

"Hi"= speaking

 _"Hi"= thinking_

 **"HI!"= Yelling or loud sounds/ Narrating**

Chapter 6

The late spring evening sun shone down upon the tiny apartment that Ookami and Hana occupied on one of the back streets of their beloved city. Ookami was hard at work, as he usually was in the evenings, and was currently attempting to find a way to spin the story that he was currently working on regarding a baseball game that had taken place late that afternoon. The story itself was rather simple with the city's local professional team had managed to easily defeat their opponents by a score of 8 to 1, however the ending was the thing that really bothered him. No matter how many times he wrote the darn thing it never seemed right. But what was truly the worst part was that he never really knew why, all he knew was that in his gut he felt that the ending was somehow wrong. It was then that he heard a sound coming from behind his right shoulder which caused him to turn and see Hana standing behind him, now heavily pregnant and obviously expecting.

"Ookami it's fine, you've asked me to read the ending to the article 3 times and each time I said that 'it was good'" Hana said, assuring him that he was not going to make a mistake which would see him join the ranks of the unemployed.

"Sorry Hana, it's just it doesn't feel right, but it's not like I really have time to complain the deadline is in an hour' so since I've finished I'll send it the way it is" Ookami replied, smiling at Hana before clicking the send button on his email getting the article to the publisher safely before the time it was due. In the weeks which had followed Hana's revelation to him of the reason she was so distraught the two had attempted to go back to the way things had always been. Ookami working at the local paper as a journalist and Hana staying home and knitting, it was the only thing she could do to relieve the stress she felt due to the fact she was not working with her husband to earn living. But in reality nothing was the was the way it used to be, and in reality how could it be? It was as if the biggest, blackest, heaviest rain cloud the winds of fate could summon had just arrived to rain on their little parade.

 _"If only I hadn't asked, maybe then things wouldn't feel like this"_ Ookami thought to himself as he exited out of his email before putting the small laptop to sleep.

(Flashback)

"What is it?" Ookami asked, causing tears to form in Hana's eyes and forcing him to pull out a napkin from his pocket and hand it to Han so she could dry her eyes.

"W-when the hybrid bear or their mate has the children th-th-they l-l-leave" Hana replied, causing more tears to come streaming out of her eyes and making her have to dry them again.

"What do you mean 'leave'?" Ookami asked as Hana blew her nose.

"We leave them, abandon them, don't help them raise the young" Hana answered before blowing her nose again "it's in our nature and as much as I thought that I could fight it, I already feel its pull". Ookami was stunned, far too stunned to effectively think let alone speak. Hana was going to leave him after she'd given birth to the baby...why? Was it something that he'd done? Had she not wanted children at all and this was how she felt she could get out? Was she afraid she was going to miscarry and this was her way of preventing him from knowing it? Or was it some sort of pregnancy hormone fuelled nonsense?

 _"No, no that can't possibly be it, there's so much reason and so much truth within her voice...what can I do? What should I do?"_ Ookami thought as he reached out a hand and gently placed his hand on Hana's. It was this action that caused her to go further into her sorrowful explanation that was on the border of possibly becoming a rant.

"I'm sorry Ookami I thought that I could avoid it, I really did, but Kami it's so difficult already and I haven't even had the twins yet" Hana cried, the words now flowing freely from her mouth as if the dam that had once held it all had b now broken. It was his curiosity he'd been the idiot who'd broken it and now there was no way to fix it, let alone rebuild it again.

"Hana I love you" Ookami began, causing Hana to look up at him with tears still in her eyes "regardless of what happens that will never change, but listen to me I believe that you can beat this instinct, and when I say that I really do mean it".

"I know Ookami but it's so hard, I can't help but fear how difficult it will be when the twins finally arrive, what if I fail and give in?" Hana asked, the fear in her voice making him want to comfort her more.

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we get there" Ookami calmly replied as he guided her to lay on his shoulder and within a few minute Hana was fast asleep.

(Flashback end)

It was life's ultimate curveball; right up their with finding out that someone had incurable cancer or something like HIV/AIDS. It was the knowledge that his spouse, his mate, his wife, his everything was going to leave him if she successfully giving birth to the twins she carried. There was truly no way to prepare one's self for such a situation. What was worse was that there was truly no winning scenario coming out of the situation. What was Ookami to do? Hope Hana miscarried his children? Hope she got an abortion? Hope that the twins were a sort of food baby that had overstayed its welcome?

 _"No, no I can't hope for any of that, I can only hope that when I have to cross that bridge I make the right choice when I cross it"_ Ookami thought as he walked over where Hana sat on the couch. With a smile on his face he turned on the small box television set that they owned and put it on the nature channel, Hana's favorite channel, and they watched a documentary on wolves.

"You know we haven't even picked out names for them yet" Ookami whispered to Hana, realizing their only critical error during the entire length of Hana's pregnancy.

"Oh, you're right, well what should we name them?" Hana asked in response, causing Ookami to look outside and see the rain clouds which were making a rapid advance in an attempt to blanket the horizon.

"Ame" Ookami replied, earning a questioning look from Hana in response prompting Ookami to defend himself.

"The rain helps cleanse the earth and it make things grow, plus no human can survive without water" Ookami justified before continuing "I hoped the name might help him be a friend to others and bring out the good in all those who meet him". With that Ookami looked at Hana, causing her to blush as she realized he was cuing her to say the name for the other child.

"Well I can tell one's a girl, and I've felt nothing but happiness since I meet you, so I fell Yuki is right" Hana stammered in reply, the blush intensifying on her face as she did so.

"Ame and Yuki, unusual names for children born from unusual parents" Ookami muttered, trying out the new names to see how they felt on the tip of his tongue. It was then that the mood suddenly changed as Hana suddenly stood up and hunched over before letting out a cry of discomfort, while stifling it as best as she could by placing a hand over her mouth.

"What is it Hana? What's wrong?" Ookami asked as he stood up, putting a hand on the small of her back in an attempt to help ease the pain.

"Oo-k-kami the cubs are c-c-coming...now" Hana muttered, her teeth clenched together in an effort to deal with the pain that was flowing through her.

"Okay Hana calm down" Ookami replied as he moved the small table they had to the edge of the living room and laid down a futon that they'd gotten before hand. Then he helped Hana undress before gently laying her down on the futon and putting a black blanket over her to cover her from the waist down and give her some privacy.

"Okay Hana, gently push when you feel ready to" Ookami calmly instructed her causing her to give him a smile. This was it, the even the two of them had both anticipated and dreaded for so many months.

"Ookami, what ever happens I want you to know that I'd never want to be anywhere else but here with you" Hana gently said before letting out another cry of discomfort causing Ookami to dh to the kitchen and fill up a large bowl with hot water before returning to her side.

 **My mother and father were worried as to how my sister and I would be born so instead of taking my mother to a hospital to give birth to us they decided it was better for her to give birth to us in the apartment where they lived to ease their fears.**

It was with great relief that Ookami looked at his tired wife and the two twins that lay beside her, their hands grasping each other's firmly as they slept peacefully. Hana had been in labor for about 3 to 4 hours before giving birth to the twins and as far as Ookami was concerned they were extremely lucky. Luck that no one came to the apartment to check on them. Lucky that nothing that required serious medical attention happened. Lucky that the labor period and the birth happened so quickly, and even more luck that there wasn't a lot of blood to clean up after the birth.

 _"Lucky for this chance to be a husband and a father"_ Ookami thought as he set up the second of the two futons they'd bought in the living room next to where his wife and two children lay. Yes sir, Ookami was truly a lucky man indeed.


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf Children as it is the proud property of Aoi Miyazaki, please support the official product and author.**

"Hi"= speaking

 _"Hi"= thinking_

 **"HI!"= Yelling or loud sounds/ Narrating**

Chapter 7

Ookami lay on the semi-comfortable futon that he'd lugged out from his closet 9 evenings prior the night that Hana had given birth to their two beautiful children. A day after Hana had given birth to Ame and Yuki Ookami had felt inclined to at least ask Hana more about the chances of her returning after leaving him with the children right after their birth.

(Flashback start)

"What?" Hana had asked, trying to understand the question she was being asked.

"Will you come back?" Ookami repeated, the urgency in his voice no doubt becoming more and more obvious.

"I-I don't know, maybe? I mean I've heard of it happening before, so I guess I could do it too" Hana replied, as she began to sit up from where she lay.

"Will you try?" Ookami asked as he leaned forwards and grasped Hana's free hand with both of his. Ookami must've been crying, or at least tearing up, because out of nowhere Hana proceeded to lead forwards and wipe away the tear on his face with the thumb of her other hand.

"Don't worry Ookami, if there's even the slightest chance that I can beat my animal instincts I will, I mean I've lasted this long" Hana replied, a confident smile emerging on her face. They stayed like that for a little while, Hana having a thumb on his cheek whilst Ookami held the other hand with both of his. There was something so...refreshing and...calming about the way they sat. They were so much, mates, parents, husband and wife, and hopeful. Hopeful for a future that they could spend together with their two children out in the country side...free.

(Flashback end)

Ookami didn't know when he'd fallen asleep, but he had. The oh so sweet comforting feelings that swirled within him as he let the flashback play in his mind no doubt contributed to a peaceful sense on his subconscious. His reason for residing in the living room on the thin futon, that he now found himself on, which was set upon a hard unyielding wood floor was simple. When Hana inevitably attempted to leave he'd catcher her. He didn't really know what he'd do if he caught her, the majority of the focus in his plan at the time was orientated towards catching his love before she left him and his children's lives forever.

 _"Whatever I need to say I'll say, whatever I need to do I'll do, I just can't let the children know the pain of growing up without a mother in their lives at any stage"_ he thought. It was then that he heard the sound he was waiting for, the one that made his heart nearly stop...it was the sound of a door opening. In a split second he was up and in that same second he saw the door close and felt his stomach take a dive. It was then he ran to the room where Hana and the children had lay to make sure he'd seen what he'd thought that he'd seen only to find it was very much true. The bed was empty, the imprints of Hana's body on the mattress being the only clue that she'd been there at a time. Next to the bed lay the crib in which Ame & Yuki resided, they were as peaceful and quiet as two little innocent babes could be. The peaceful and calm demeanors on their faces betrayed the intense severity of the moment that they had unconsciously found themselves apart of.

 _"But how are they to know?"_ Ookami thought to himself as he pulled out the stroller device that he and Hana had gotten to transport the children. How were they to know the life they were now at risk of living? A life without a mother? A life with no one to greet them at home and how their day was when Ookami was at the office? A life where mother's day was nothing more than a glorified day with no true meaning because they had no mother to celebrate it with? Would they come to hate Hana is he failed to catch her? Would they hate him? Would they come to eventually hate themselves? All of the scenarios that could or would come from him failing to prevent Hana from leaving that swirled around in his head were many, but he like none of them.

 _"Ame, Yuki, I will not fail you!"_ Ookami thought loudly in his head as he entered the room and carefully picked each of the them up and placed them each in their designated slot in the stroller. The two children did not make a sound during the transfer or the somewhat chaotic journey down the stairs to the first floor of the apartment. Ookami pushed the stroller frantically through the rain, going down all of the paths that Hana and him had frequented along with ones that were the quickest or most well known to them that lead out of the city.

 **My father ran around almost the entirety of the night trying to find her and he told me that for the most part Yuki and I were quiet, seldom making a sound so rising from our slumber was almost out of the question. He'd almost given up at one point when everything changed.**

"I've been running for nearly 2 hours and have gotten no leads, if I don't go home soon I won't have enough energy to work tomorrow" Ookami muttered to himself in frustration. Ookami was almost everything someone looking for a missing person or a runaway shouldn't be. He was tired, he was wet, he was frustrated, he was desperate, he was not thinking straight, and he was without any true plan. The plan had fallen apart at the seems when Hana had managed to sneak out of the apartment and in hindsight Ookami should've planned better, she as part bear and bears are almost always illusive of professionals who try to catch them how was he going to be able to as an amateur?

 _"I need a rest"_ Ookami thought as he found the side of a building to lean on and did so to rest his back and it was then that he saw it. A woman who didn't "look like Hana" but was Hana turning the corner half-way down the street. Instantly Ookami leapt to his feat again and took off in hot pursuit of the woman...of Hana. He closed the distance rather quickly and was about to call her name when a sound he could never have mistaken got his attention. The sound of a baby cry. He looked down and saw Yuki vocally bawling her eyes out and flailing around violently, nearly striking Ame on several occasions. Without a second thought Ookami picked her up with his non-dominant arm in an attempt to comfort her before beginning to push the stroller again. The distance that he'd lost due to Yuki's sudden wailing was made up in a descent time, because whilst he ran to catch up with Hana she calmly walked as if on a typical evening stroll. Suddenly another sound caught his hearing and he looked into the stroller to find Ame beginning to whimper, threatening to begin crying just as hard as his sister.

 _"How could they know what they're preventing me from doing?"_ Ookami thought as he quickly placed Yuki in the stroller with Ame and started after the woman again. The children could wait, if he caught Hana they could talk and try to fix things and then calm the children together. The crying, no doubt from Yuki, intensified as he began to close the distance. He was so close now that he could've easily shouted Hana's name and she would've heard it, so when he saw her turn the corner to go into a small alley way he did just that.

 **"Hana"** he shouted at the top of his lungs as he rounded the corner hoping to get the woman to respond. But what he found when he turned the corned shocked him. The alley way was bare and looked as though it hadn't been strolled through in 24 hours or more. Hana had disappeared...into thin air...how was that possible?

 _"Well I should at least Calm Ame & Yuki while I have a break" _Ookami thought only to notice something else as well. Both of the children had stopped their crying, it'd ended as abruptly as it had started. For a few second Ookami felt a fear grow in his stomach, thinking maybe in his haste to catch Hana one or both of the children had fallen out of the stroller, but that fear was put to rest by one long look inside. Ame & Yuki were their and were as quiet and innocent looking as they had been when he'd put them in the stroller. It was with a heavy heart that Ookami made the long, quiet, solemn walk back to the apartment building and then climbed the stairs to his apartment. He could only hope one that in a few months Hana would be back and he'd never have to repeat the experience again.

 **Father said that he slept fitfully the rest of the night waking up every few hours to check to see if mother had returned and always finding disappointment each time. Unfortunately in the morning he found out why thanks to a very unwelcome surprise.**

Ookami wearily rubbed his eyes as he tried to make himself his usual cup of team whilst the toaster toasted the bread he'd put into it seconds earlier. As he poured himself his cup of tea he went to the refrigerator to get milk to put in the bottles that he'd gotten for the children on one of his days when he'd left work and was on his way home. After pouring the milk into each bottle he went over to where Ame and Yuki sat on the flood crawling around and turned on the TV to the news channel.

"In the dark hours of this morning the city police received a call that a bear was loose somewhere within the city limits" the woman news anchor began, instantly gaining Ookami's attention.

"The first officer on the scene was one Sora Akiyama and the officer claims that 'the bear at first moved lazily, as though it was sick, but when it saw me it became excited and threatened to charge, it was then that I pulled out my service pistol and discharged two of my six shots with the first being a warning shot and the second killing the animal'" she explained, quoting the officer. It was at that time when the TV station elected to show the picture of the bear with the bullet whole in its head. Ookami suddenly felt sick and turned towards the bathroom and ran there before retching violently into the toilet while ignoring the sound of the toast popping up.

"Animal rights groups have been protesting saying that the course of action was unjust and the officer should've instead shot to maim and not kill because the bear was most likely sick from a possible lack of hunger or due to eating a toxic substance, the local police have yet to release an official statement in response but what is your opinion on the subject Mr. Fujimoto?" the anchor woman asked causing a man to begin speaking.

"Well I'll be honest Mrs. Fujioka I have to take the side of the officer in this scenario because-" Ookami never let the man finish as he had returned to the living room by the time he'd began talking and had elected to turn off the television set.

 _"How can she be dead? How? How? How?"_ Ookami thought to himself as he gripped his head with both his hands in panic. His panic was temporarily halted when he felt a hand gently grab onto his pant leg and looked down to see Ame holding onto it and staring at him. Ame's eyes, while still being and innocent, seemed to beg for some sort of understanding as to why his father was so sad when nothing seemed to be wrong, but how could he have know? How could he have known the life that was staring him in the face? How could he have known the challenges he'd face? The times he'd inevitably beg his father for an answer he could not give when it came to why Hana wasn't here? Why she left? And if it had anything to do with him and Yuki being born? How could he have known?

"Ookami" a voice whispered as he picked up Ame causing him to quickly turn to the door to see if Hana was there and the bear that'd been killed was not her. Unfortunately that was not the case as the area in front of the doorway was vacant and the door was undisturbed.

"Ookami" the voice whispered again, but this time Ookami turned towards the window and found himself looking out at the bright sunny day that lay before them.

"Raise them right" the voice said before adding "please they need you, don't fail them". It was unmistakably Hana's voice, the tone, the pitch, the style when it came to pronouncing words and the speech pattern all lined up. It was her message from beyond the grave, her way to refocus him on his new task at hand.

"Don't worry Hana I will, I'll raise them right, just you watch" Ookami declared with a smile emerging onto his face as he did so.

 **Father once told me that the morning after mother left us he heard her calling for him to raise us properly and as he heard this he saw the sun rising, as if to usher in a new day in a new era of his life.**

 **P.S**

 **Hey guys it's Jackie and I'd like to officially say good-bye to Hana in the physical world, her spirit will come into play with Ookami, Ame, and Yuki every once in a while later on but in terms of her physical life it's over, she's dead. It was very hard to write this chapter without completely copying the scene from the movie so please take that into consideration when you notice how rough around the edges the chapter is. But anyways I would like to thank you all for staying with me for so long and that your dedicated readership is now only welcomed but well appreciated.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf Children as it is the proud property of Aoi Miyazaki, please support the official product and author.**

"Hi"= speaking

 _"Hi"= thinking_

 **"HI!"= Yelling or loud sounds/ Narrating**

Chapter 8

 **Things moved quickly after my mother passed away and my father now found himself being forced to fill a schedule as a full time parent and columnist for the local newspaper, regardless of how difficult it got the thought of the promise he made to my mother spurred my father on.**

The bright afternoon sun shone through the apartment window in the living room as the tiny family that it housed went along with their daily business in an attempt to live, or at least fake, normal lives. Ookami stood at the kitchen and was fixing himself and his two children dinner whilst they played harmlessly in the living room with a pair of toys that he'd bought them a few weeks earlier. The meal was rather simple solely consisting of a rice, vegetable, and chicken soup that was coming along rather quickly as Ookami planned. Despite how long it'd taken and how tedious getting it that way had been but in the end he was more than satisfied with how he'd managed to create a schedule with his bosses that benefitted his children. He'd go to work at about 10 am and work on his column based on the notes he was given from an assistant on event that he was covering and would return around 1 pm to take care of the children.

'Hana where ever you are I hope that you can see how the children have grown and how they are beginning to resemble you' Ookami thought as he glanced over his shoulder. Both children had entered their toddler phase and were nearly carbon copies of one another. They both had pale milky white skin, jet black hair, and brown eyes but where they differed was in how they behaved, as anyone could easily see. Whilst Ame was a much more observant and quiet child who always liked to stare at things before engaging with them, assuming he engaged with them at all, and he was often very attached. By contrast Yuki was much more vocal and cried often when things did not go her way and loved to engage with anything and one that was available to be interacted with.

"Daddy I'm hungry!" a small, high pitch voice called from below him and in response he found himself starring at Yuki who was standing down at his feet and was sporting a disappointed face.

"Lunch will be ready in a few minutes Yuki, please be patient" Ookami replied looking back to the soup that he was preparing.

"But I want it now!" Yuki shouted before falling to the ground and rolling all over the place whilst she pounded her fists on the ground and proceeded to semi shift into her bear form.

 **Dad says that Yuki was always full of energy when she was younger and that she'd often change into her bear form when she was younger, and this happened a lot.**

'Just ignore it, she'll eventually stop' Ookami thought as he continued to stir the soup whilst it boiled. If there was one thing that Ookami had remembered the most from his childhood it was how his parents had made it very clear to him from a young age that throwing a temper tantrum wouldn't get you anything in life faster than being patient could. Maybe the idea was slightly old fashioned, or maybe it was more so to be found in the way that his parents had executed their campaign to implement such an idea. This had involved them giving him an allowance only to charge him when he'd throw temper tantrums as well as take away some of his privileges, but in the end regardless he'd gotten the point and now he was trying to get the same idea into Yuki's head before it was too late. Eventually Yuki began to calm down and looked up with red eyes that had tear stains on the cheeks.

"Now what do you say if you want something?" Ookami asked as he turned his gaze towards where he sat.

"May I please have something to eat?" Yuki asked before attempting to smile to get her point across.

"Yes" Ookami replied before handing Yuki a piece of grilled chicken that he'd made. Upon grabbing it in her hands Yuki shoved it into her mouth and then sprinted back towards the living room where Ame had, or at least Ookami assumed that he had, been watching the entire scene unfold in front of him.

 **By stark contrast I was much quieter and seldom used my bear form and for a while my father worried that I was sick, I don't now why, but in the end he accepted it as a phase I was going through.**

A few minutes later Ookami poured himself, Ame, and Yuki each a bowl of the soup that he'd made before taking it to the small table that was in the front of the apartment and set each one down before returning to the kitchen and getting each of them a spoon as well as a napkin.

"Ame, Yuki, lunch is ready" Ookami declared causing the two to literally stop what they were doing before turning and running towards the table. They each climbed onto the chair that they'd designated "theirs" a long time ago before each grabbing a spoon and prepared to dig in.

"Ame, Yuki, remember what we do before each meal?" Ookami asked, causing them to look at him instantly.

"Say a prayer" Ame silently replied before sticking a finger in his mouth and then looking down, as if he was ashamed that he had the nerve to answer the question because he no chance to be anything but wrong.

"Yes, let's do that once more" Ookami replied before putting his hands together and watching his children do the same before closing his eyes. The following moment was one filled with science, so quiet that one could here the wind that was briskly going by the window in the living room.

'Hana thank you for giving me these two beautiful children, my only regret is that you weren't able to be here to see them grow up ' Ookami thought before feeling a tear slide down his cheek.

'Oh God Hana I miss you so much' Ookami thought only to have his musings broken by the feeling of someone shaking his shoulder. Ookami looked down and saw Ame standing next to him looking up at him wide eyed and curious.

"What's wrong daddy?" Ame finally asked, voicing his concern.

"Nothing is wrong, nothing is wrong" Ookami replied only to see Ame stand up on his tippy toes and use his sleeve to wipe the tears away from Ookami's eyes.

"Everything's okay daddy, everything's okay" Ame said as he hugged Ookami's arm in an attempt to re-assure him that he was indeed telling the truth.

'Yeah we're okay here, everything's fine, I have Ame and Yuki...which means that I have part of Hana still with me' Ookami thought before returning a Ame's reassurance's with a smile.

"You're right Ame, everything's fine now let's eat" Ookami replied before helping Ame up onto his seat and them returning to his own spot at the table before eating his own soup and smiling as he saw Yuki easily wolf down her food whilst Ame struggled to us his spoon correctly.

 **If there was one thing that I remember the most form when I was younger and it was how much I hated to see my father cry and I don't really know why. Maybe it was because I felt that he didn't deserve it because of how hard I saw him work to keep Yuki and I happy, maybe it was because seeing it made me feel like I'd done something wrong, or maybe it was because I never wanted to see anything except his smiling, hope filled face.**

 _P.S_

 _Hello everybody Jackie here I just want to thank you all for being willing to read my story for the past few months throuout all of its ups and downs. I hope that all of you have a very Merry Christmas as well as a safe and Happy New Year. Hope to update sometime in January, because my schedule is about to get very busy very quickly. Regardless thanks and once again be safe._


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: **I do not own Wolf Children as it is the proud property of Aoi Miyazaki, please support the official product and author.**

"Hi"= speaking

 _"Hi"= thinking_

 **"HI!"= Yelling or loud sounds/ Narrating**

Chapter 9

Ookami sat in the living room playing a quiet game of Candy Land with Ame and Yuki one fine sunny afternoon and Ookami was having quiet a bit of fun letting his children win, while still teaching them more about the game. Things had been rather quiet lately, due to Ookami's seniority at the local newspaper he was able to request more flexible hours with more livable pay and actually receive them. But regardless that wasn't what really mattered at the current moment, all that really did matter was his children and the life that they were spending together.

"Daddy, can we go to the zoo tomorrow?" Yuki asked causing Ookami to come out of his thoughts and look to see her. That was the one family outing which seemed to bring an endless mixture of joy and curiosity to his children, but for the life of himself he never really knew who was the one truly asking. He could understand the fact of who was really asking, yes it was always Yuki wo asked but he could tell that sometimes it was on some cue given to her by Ame in some way, shape, or form.

"Well I suppose it couldn't hurt, I mean I do think that I have tomorrow off anyways" Ookami replied which caused Yuki to jump up and quickly run over to Ame and give him a hug.

"Thank You!" she nearly shouted as she displayed a look of happiness which was only truly comparable to her birthday.

"But you two have to promise to behave, can you do that?" Ookami added causing both of his children to turn and look at him.

"We promise, right Ame" Yuki replied before looking at Ame who, for his part, proceeded to repeatedly nod his head in response.

"Okay then I guess we'll go, now let's get back to the game" Ookami replied before returning his gaze tot he game board and the game itself.

 **My father could hide many things; he could hide the reason for our mother not being with us from the outside world, he could hide our power from the world, but in the end he could never hide us form the world's cruelness.**

It was at that moment when Ookami heard a firm knocking sound on the door and elected to rise to answer it. As Ookami made his way towards the door the knocking only intensified.

"I'm coming, I'm coming" Ookami said as he reached the door and proceeded to open it revealing Ookami's middle aged land lord standing in the doorway.

"Oh hello Mr. Higurashi, is there a problem?" Ookami asked causing the land lord to take of his glasses and close his eyes in frustration.

"Mr. Akamtsu may I have a word?" The land lord replied before letting out a sigh.

"Oh, of course, would you like too come in?" Ookami asked as he proceeded to take a step backwards to allow for Mr. Higurashi to enter the apartment.

"That won't be necessary Mr. Akamatsu" Mr. Higurashi replied before looking straight into Ookami's eyes.

"Mr. Akamatsu, there have been complaints from other tenants that they've been hearing animal sounds coming from this apartment in particular" Mr. Higurashi replied causing Ookami to instantly go on the defensive.

"I'm sorry Mr. Higurashi but there must be some mistake, you know that I do not own any pets, with two kids and my salary I couldn't afford to own a pet even if I wanted one" Ookami replied causing Mr. Higurashi to raise a hand and silence Ookami.

"Mr. Akamatsu I am not here to support those making the accusations against you nor am I here to defend you, I'm just here to tell you this because if it continues I will be forced to evict you and your children" Mr. Higurashi calmly said before adding.

"Listen Ookami, I believe you but the rules are the rules, if I offered you any special treatment I could, and no doubt would, be taken to court and lose my ability to rent out these apartments" with that Mr. Higurashi turned and proceeded to walk down the hallway leaving Ookami standing in the door speechless. It was then that he felt a tugging on his pant leg and Ookami looked down to see Yuki standing there with Ame next to her.

"Daddy, who was that?" Yuki asked, concern evident in her voice.

"No one , sweat heart, no one" Ookami replied as he offered a fake smile "let's go to the zoo".


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: **I do not own Wolf Children as it is the proud property of Aoi Miyazaki, please support the official product and author.**

"Hi"= speaking

 _"Hi"= thinking_

 **"HI!"= Yelling or loud sounds/ Narrating**

Chapter 10

Ookami helped Ame and Yuki put on their thing spring jackets along with their shoes before leading them out of the apartment. From there Ookami led the children down the steep staircase and then put of the apartment's front door. The sky was still clear and blue, there was no wind, and truth be told the chill that Ookami had expected and warned Yuki about when she'd refused to put on a jacket was surprisingly not there. Ookami was brought out of his thoughts by the feeling of someone firmly grabbing onto his hand and looked down to see Ame holding onto his hand with both of his tiny palms.

"What's wrong Ame?" Ookami asked, trying to offer a calming smile.

"You said that 'if we didn't hold onto your hand we might get lost and you might not be able to find us, and I don't want to get lost daddy'" Ame replied as his grip on Ookami's hand tightened a little bit more. Ookami stopped walking, causing Yuki to turn and look at him, and then bent down to look Ame straight in the eye.

"Look Ame, whatever happens, you will never end up going anywhere that I cannot find you so don't worry about getting lost okay" Ookami told Ame in a quiet, predictable, stable, and friendly tone.

"Okay" Ame replied, causing Ookami to stand up and then continue to walk down the street. The rest of the small walk to the train station took anywhere between 10 and 15 minutes, one of the reasons for the relative quickness in the journey was the fact that Yuki had elected to not be as troublesome as usual which meant that she didn't try to slip out of the protective grasp of Ookami's hands even once. Truth be told Yuki was the complete opposite of Ame, even though he was walking over already trodden territory. Yuki was nothing short of being at the peak of her confidence, she was full of energy and was using it in a good way be constantly greeting people as they trudged on and made their way up the steps to the small train station that would take them to their desired destination. After swiping the metro pass that Ookami used in order to get to his job everyday the three made their way to the desired platform in order to wait for their train to arrive.

'Hana, looking down from heaven may I ask you one question?' Ookami thought to himself as he looked up at the sky through the open air roof that was over the track 'have I done a good job raising our children'.

"Daddy look, the trains coming" Yuki declared in an excited voice before tugging on Ookami's jacket sleeve, causing him to look in the direction that she was pointing and see the bright lights coming their way. Donning a smile Ookami proceeded to tighten his grip on his children's hands as the train came to a stop in front of them and the doors opened, before leading them into the train carriage which lay directly in front of them. Since it was a week end day and it was an afternoon train Ookami managed to easily find a place to sit for his children and then for himself across the isle so that he could keep an eye on them. In reality by them he mainly meant Ame, as Yuki did not panic when she was crowded with strangers like Ame did on many occasions. Luckily for Ookami the train remained vacant throughout the entirety of the train ride and along side this Yuki managed to keep Ame distracted enough so that he did not end up fearfully looking back along the length of the train throughout the entirety of the trip and he did not endlessly stare at Ookami. The thought of the way Ame could and would stare at things and people sent a cold chill down Ookami's spine.

It was almost as if those eyes were meant to solely observe things. Not in a sort of predatory way that psychopaths or sociopaths would, but in a way of pure innocence simply intent on learning, with no visible ulterior motives. Ame's eyes felt so endless in size and capacity to in take knowledge that it felt extremely weird for Ookami when he fell under their aimless gaze, the times when Ame would just stare at him learning his movements and emotions. It was as if his sonw as trying to understand him better than Ookami could understand himself.

"Daddy" Ame said, breaking Ookami out of his trance "we're at our stop". With that Ookami surveyed the area outside of the windows of the train and noticed that his son was indeed correct in this assessment and the rose up before extending his hands out to that of his children.

"Come on children, we've got to get going before the doors close" Ookami said softly, causing both Ame and Yuki to rise from their seats and take Ookami's hands before being guided out of the carriage to the platform in front of them. The walk to the zoo was just as brisk and as quiet as the walk to the train station had been and in no short time the family found themselves standing outside of the gates of the zoo's entrance, preparing to make the necessary purchases to enter.

"Good morning sir, how may I help you?" the ticket taker asked as he looked through the clear plastic pain that separated him from the patrons who would come and go through his entrance gate.

"Three tickets please" Ookami said as he pulled out the usual amount of money required to get in and exchanged it for the tickets that he desired.

"Here you go, have a nice day sir" the ticket taker replied as he handed Ookami the tickets and watched as they proceeded to walk on down the path.

"Now Ame, Yuki where should we go first?" Ookami asked as he pulled out the map that he'd purchased on their first trip to the zoo and had elected not to dispose of so that he wouldn't have to use that much money on a map which hadn't changed since he and the children had first come to the zoo.

"The bears, the bears" Yuki resoundingly declared, no surprise to Ookami. It was really the only reason that they ever came, hi children loved the bears. Deep down to Ookami it wasn't a surprise in the slightest, knowing the background of Hana made it incredibly easy to understand the fascination that his children had with these animals.

"Okay, but you must promise to be willing to see one other animal each before we stop for something to eat" Ookami dictated, receiving an emphatic nod of approval from Yuki and a much more timid one from Ame. The walk to the bear exhibit was as brisk as it always was, even on their first trip either of the children had expressed any interest in the many venders that they'd encountered on their way to the exhibit. In fact Ookami was convinced that while Yuki had collectively elected to ignore them Ame had become quiet annoyed, the reason for this being that there was an intense aura of displeasure which eventually began to surround Ame at the beginning of the journey which only lessened upon them reaching the bear exhibit.

"Daddy look the bear" Yuki declared before running up to the translucent paneling and pressing her face against it.

'I have a feeling that she'll need a bath after this trip' Ookami thought as he and Ame reached the paneling and he released Ame's hand. Ookami remembered how concerned he'd been about Ame when he was a baby for in all the books he'd read this much silence from a baby, especially a baby boy, was seldom ever a good sign. But eventually Ame had come around and Ookami had been forced to accept that his son was just not a very talkative person and for that he soon realized that Ame was instead an extremely observant person. Looking up from his children Ookami looked and saw a bear laying down with a cub and giving it a "bath" by licking its fur. The minute he noticed it he wished he hadn't as he felt a gut clenching sensation in his heart, a feeling only made worse by the sight of the cub licking the bear's face in response to "bath" being finished.

'Oh Hana, I always try to be strong, but its times like this that I feel so weak. I failed to protect you, what if I fail to protect the children too?' Ookami thought as he turned his attention over to Ame and Yuki, who were now standing side by side and looking at a bear. The bear seemed big and looked interested in the two as it continued to sniff the air around the glass and once even licked the are where it perceived Yuki's hand to be. Yuki was apparently having a conversation with the bear, while Ame was still studying the bear as if he was trying to determine weather fraternizing with it was worth his time.

Ookami never was really able to understand what happened next as one moment Ame and Yuki were standing next to the panel and the next thing Ookami knew Yuki was down on all fours and Ame was trying to get her back on her hind legs. Fearing the worst Ookami ran over, picked up Yuki, grabbed Ame by the hand and then proceeded to guide the two away from the crowd and two a secluded area as quickly as possible.

"What were you thinking?" Ookami asked Yuki after she'd changed back to normal.

"Well the bear said that he 'didn't believe I was part bear' so I decided to show him" Yuki answered, her head hung in shame. Ookami could only shake and scratch his head in response before squatting down to be Yuki's height and lifting up her chin.

"Yuki, you can't keep doing that, if someone had seen you something bad could've happen" Ookami calmly replied.

"But daddy, you said 'we were special', if we're special why do we have to hide?" Yuki asked, tears threatening o come pouring out of her eyes.

"Because some people aren't ready to know about you and Ame, that's why you and your brother have to be in human form around humans" Ookami replied as he took his thumb and wiped away the tears as best he could

"When will they be ready daddy?" Yuki asked, looking into his eyes.

"Soon honey, soon" Ookami answered before bringing Yuk in for a protective an reassuring hug.


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: **I do not own Wolf Children as it is the proud property of Aoi Miyazaki, please support the official product and author.**

"Hi"= speaking

 _"Hi"= thinking_

 **"HI!"= Yelling or loud sounds/ Narrating**

Chapter 11

It was a normal night in the Akamatsu house with Ookami cooking dinner for his family as usual, well one could actually say that tonight was a particularly special night. For tonight was the night of Ame & Yuki's fifth birthday and was the family was in the midst of celebrating it in the usual fashion that was available to them, a party with home made cake and food. Ookami had recently became a little tight on cash and had been forced to slightly scale down the celebration that he had planned for, but he was able to buy them several gifts that he knew they'd been admiring. Ookami's financial situation wasn't at all helped by the fact that now that his children had become older he was being forced to work from home more and had been forced to move into the realm of free-lance journalism, an occupation that carried more risks than a stable job and only allowed the journalist unfortunate to have to do it to strike gold less often.

'But at least I won't have to worry about the kids doing something reckless in a daycare center' Ookami thought to himself as he bent down and proceeded to pull the cake he'd been baking out of the oven. As much as Ookami had wanted to keep his stable job at the paper, he couldn't bare to think of the risks which would follow him putting the children in a daycare facility, they were still too young and reckless for something like that to work. Of course he still needed to keep a job, as the little government welfare he was receiving was by no means enough to sustain a family on, which led him to go down the route of free-lance journalism. It was then that Ookami heard the door bell ring causing him to put the kitchen burned on low and turn the hand of the pan that he was working with away from the outer edges of the stove. Not too long ago Ookami had made the mistake of forgetting to do that and as a result Ame had become interested in the pan's handle and after climbing on Yuki's back had caused the pan to fall off the stove with a mighty clang. Luckily the stove was not on and the pan had not been used recently or else the consequence of the whole fiasco might not have just been two frightened children but intense injuries such as burns or the apartment building burning down. Ookami was torn from his thoughts by the sound of the door bell being run a second, then third, and finally a fourth time in quick succession indicating that the perpetrator of the action was either in hurry or impatient.

"Comin, coming" Ookami declared in a calm tone as he reached the apartment door and proceeded to unlock the door before opening it to reveal two individuals standing in the doorway. The first individual was a man who was advanced in his years and had a pair of glasses on his nose and wore a black suit jacket with a semi-casual shirt and a black tie along with black slacks. By contrast the woman looked rather young and had a black skirt and jacket on with a white shirt and lacked any glasses while in her right hand was a small satchel that she held in what seemed to be a rather firm grip.

"Are you Mr. Ookami Akamatsu?" the older man asked as he raised an eyebrow, causing an aura of uncertainty to radiate from him.

"Yes, who are you?" Ookami asked in response as he put the majority of his weight on the foot which lay behind the door, allowing him to be able to slam it closed at a moments notice if need be.

"There's no need to be concerned Mr. Akamatsu, we're just from the local Child Protection service agency and we're here to just ask you a few questions, now may we come in?" the man replied causing Ookami to step aside and let the two in before closing the door behind him. As Ookami guided them to the small tall table which dominated the makeshift dinning room that he'd constructed for him and his children to eat at a slew of worries began to go through his mind. Seeing Ame & Yuki looking at them from the sitting room Ookami quickly asked them to leave, which the two obliged seeming to know this was not their place to be.

'Why are they here? What did I do wrong? Were Ame & Yuki crying in their sleep again? Did they do something while I was out yesterday?' Ookami thought as the three adults proceeded to sit down at the table and the woman placed the satchel on the table and proceeded to take out a small packet of papers.

"Mr. Akamatsu my name is Seji Matsumori and this is my partner Aki Kobayashi" the man began before gesturing to his partner and then continuing "we're here to ask you some questions in regards to your children's health and treatment while under your care". The announcement caused Ookami to experience a mixed feeling of having his stomach take a dive and then flutter back up with a sense of hope. They'd come because they were concerned, but they still could be convinced that everything was fine, he could still manage to keep his promise to Hana.

"Well let me assure you Mr. Matsumori, that everything is fine and that the children are very healthy" Ookami replied as he clenched his hands together and put them on the table. The man proceeded to throw him a glance that was more out of boredom than anything else before giving his opinion.

"I'm fairly sure of that Mr. Akamatsu, despite how all parents who we see claim the same we find that the overwhelming majority of them are right, but still we're here so let's get started" Mr. Matsumori began before taking the packet from the young woman. The Matsumori proceeded to open the packet's title page and turn to the first inside page before beginning.

"Now to review I'll just need to ask you a few brief questions" Mr. Matsumori began.

"Okay" Ookami replied, trying to hide the amount of nervousness that laced his voice.

"You are Ookami Akamatsu, husband to your now deceased wife Hana Akamatsu is that correct?" the man asked causing Ookami to instantly feel a burning sensation of sadness build up in his heart.

"Yes" Ookami answered, feeling tears begin to threaten to burst forth from his eyes.

"Good, and your children are Ame Akamatsu and Yuki Akamatsu?" the man continued causing Ookami to reply "yes" once again.

"Your current occupation is a free-lance journalist who often publishes weather news and opinion pieces in your old new paper, is that correct?" the man asked allowing for Ookami to again answer with a "yes".

"Well then Mr. Akamatsu I have some alarming news for you" the man declared causing Ookami to immediately lean forwards.

"What, what is it, what's the news?" Ookami frantically asked, panic gripping his voice, in response the man proceeded to look towards the woman sitting beside him and hand her the packed for her to begin reading.

"According to reports your children have neither attended any kindergarten or kindergarten substitute programs and failed to receive any of their required immunizations, are you aware of this fact?" the woman answered looking up from the packet as she waited for Ookami's answer. Ookami felt his throat go dry as he tried to think of what to do, as much as he wanted to lie he knew that could possibly put him in a much worse situation than he already was. He'd avoided kindergarten because Ame & Yuki lacked any sort of social skills outside of each other and him and it was too risky to start now with their condition and education substitutes were far too expensive. As for immunizations he'd tried keeping them healthy by exercising, eating well, and getting enough sleep to supplant the need for shots but in the end the fear was that they might react badly to having the shots given to them. Ookami knew that on the immunization case he couldn't claim religious exemption because despite being a religious man he didn't believe in that and odds were that lying would only make him look more suspicious, in the end all that was left was to bite the bullet that had been shot at him.

"Yes, I am" Ookami replied, his stomach once again beginning to gain a strong sinking feeling.

"Mr. Akamatsu you do realize the huge health risk that you are forcing upon your children along with those who come into contact with them" the woman began, no doubt warming up to what would be a scolding over his failures as a father "but not enrolling them in any sort of educational programs, that's...that's...that's just unbelievable".

"Now, now Mrs. Kobayashi let's stay on the target of our visit" Mr. Matsumori interrupted, no doubt saving Ookami from feeling any lower "but still Mr. Akamatsu the question still remains why deny your children this most basic education and health care?". For a moment Ookami didn't know how to respond to the question which had been posed to him. Should he come clean? Should he lie? Should he compromise? He didn't know, he had to give an answer, so in the end he did.

"It's just been tough" Ookami began, feeling what seemed like years of frustration coming out of him "things have been tough since Hana died and at first I was able to work at the paper and take care of the kids, but as things went on it became tougher and tougher and before I knew it I had to stay here and work free-lance in order to take care of my children". Raising his head to look Mr. Matsumori right in the eye he continued.

"Mr. Matsumori, I know I am the farthest thing from the pristine and perfect parent but please do not take my children away from me they're the only bit of Hana I have left" Ookami begged, feeling tears now leaving the creases of his eyes. For a few brief seconds after he finished his statement there was an eerie pregnant silence.

"Mr. Akamatsu" Mr. Matsumori began "I am extremely sympathetic to your plight but the law is the law, as of this moment you have 3 months to enroll you children in a educational facility in this or some other prefecture and 6 months to take them to a doctor in this or some other prefecture or we'll be forced to remove the children from your care, is that clear?". Feeling his head begin to slowly droop and the tears now begin to flow more freely Ookami found himself fully process the conditions, no the ultimatum that he'd been issued.

"Yes" Ookami replied before rising to show his two guests the way out of the apartment, opening the door for them. Unfortunately before they left the apartment the sound of bear noises could be heard from Ookami's room causing the two to turn around and look at him questioningly.

"Sorry, must be the dog next door" Ookami replied before quickly closing the door and then proceeding to lock it before the two could ask any questions. Quickly running to where the sound came from Ookami found Ame & Yuki playing with each other having turned their hands & feet into paws, growing ears, and small tails causing them to be partially transformed into bears.

"Is something wrong daddy?" Yuki asked as she took advantage of Ame's distraction and rolled him onto his stomach.

"No, nothing is wrong" Ookami replied, he knew that wasn't true. He knew he had to do something, he couldn't enroll them in a local school or take them to a doctor, but he still couldn't let them take his children away. Suddenly however he was struck by an idea, it may have been a long shot but it was better than sitting here and waiting for either the rock or the hard place he was stuck between to get any closer and crush him.

'Hana do you remember that place? That place where we wanted to one day take Ame & Yuki so we could raise them right? Well I'm going to do it, I may have to break the law but I'll do it' Ookami thought as he began to bare a smile before reaching down and tickle Yuki behind her ear causing her to roll off of Ame and begin laughing.

 _Author's Note_

 _Hello to my dedicated readers I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for the long wait between the publishing of this and the last chapter. I would also like to tell you that my updates will be slow, hopefully not this slow, but slow none the less. Thank you for waiting this long and being this devoted to story._

 _Sincerely_

 _Jackie Robinson_


	13. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: **I do not own Wolf Children as it is the proud property of Aoi Miyazaki, please support the official product and author.**

"Hi"= speaking

 _"Hi"= thinking_

 **"HI!"= Yelling or loud sounds/ Narrating**

Chapter 12

The bright light of the moon gently illuminated the night sky creating an allusion of peace and harmony on the earth that lay below it, but the truth was incredibly far from the image given. As the moon continued to look down a scene which was something from a spy movie was beginning to take place in front of a small apartment building on a back street in a small Japanese city. The apartment was the home, well now possibly ex-home, of one Ookami Akamatsu and his two young children who were asleep as their father quietly loaded them and the other personal belongings which they owned into the taxi he'd procured. It hadn't been easy to get the taxi for a laundry list of reasons ranging from the basic fact that it was seemingly always difficult to hail a cab in general to the task that he assigned the taxi driver to being so odd that for about a second Ookami thought that he might've lost the driver's business. This had become worse when the cab had nearly scrapped against the side of alley meaning that he'd almost had to pay for those damages but luckily he hadn't had to cross that bridge. Now Ookami found himself silently placing the personal items he'd packed in the trunk of the car as quickly as he could, praying that none of his neighbors would call the cops.

"Where to now sir?" the driver asked from the front seat as Ookami grabbed his bag and made his way to the passenger's seat.

"The train station please" Ookami replied as he strapped himself in and the cab began to slowly and carefully make its way down the alley. As they cab reached the point where the small alley Ookami's apartment resided in meet with the street and began to turn Ookami proceeded to quietly rested his head against the passenger window in an attempt to get some sleep. Even though his plan had so far gone off without a hitch Ookami knew that he and his children were not out of the woods yet, and he had a sinking feeling that at any moment the noose he was so desperately trying to escape could be pulled shut trapping him in its clutches. After doing a little bit of research Ookami had been able to not only find out the town he and Hana had visited, a small farming community by the name of Akiyama, but also the train line he'd have to use to get there. Thinking of the train trip that lay ahead of him Ookami looked down at his watch and checked he time; it was a little after midnight and he still had plenty of time to catch the train he intended to take with his children, yes the train ran every half hour but he didn't want to risk Ame and Yuki waking up before they got on the train. The thought of how he was going to explain everything that was happening until he managed to secure a house caused Ookami to take a peak into the back seat.

'I'll just say we're going on a trip' he thought before almost instantly adding 'a very long trip'. Turning back to face the front Ookami watched as the cab came to a slow stop at a red light and let the other traffic around him go remembering how he'd been tempted to resign weeks before tonight but eventually decided against it. If he wanted to lower the chances of being suspicious, and still have the funds to not warrant worries from Ame or Yuki, he'd had to continue working up until yesterday, approximately 2 weeks since he'd given his notice at the newspaper of his resignation. This managed to keep the gossip loop as small as possible and make his co-workers and employers less weary of what had just taken place as it made his disappearance seem more...natural or at least he hoped it would. There was also the point of him worrying about how long it would take for the Services which had visited him to find out of his status of unemployment, for whenever they did it would be inevitable that he'd be confronted and his children no doubt removed from his custody. In the however he knew that regardless of his justification he would never know how Hana felt about his decision that is not until it was his time to meet her in heaven along with the rest of his family, the thought of which caused him to once again look out the passenger window.

Even before having children Ookami had never been a man of the night, he'd always had a personal curfew which he followed to a tee which helped him enforce the same on his children. The result of this was that he never was able to get to see the city at night as much as other young adults his age who'd lived more "normal" lives probably had and it manifested in his reaction to the immense amount of lights he saw now. The bright lights of the city were simply beautiful and seemed to dance across the building which they were anchored to with a sense of ease and life that made Ookami speechless. If there were to be many things that his children would never get to see again until they returned to the city, whenever that may be, it would probably be this spectacle of sheer beauty. However the show did not last long as the lights, along with much of the downtown traffic, gradually disappeared as they got closer to the station until the regular, white, sterile, lights that were the staple of the apartment Ookami was taking his family from had become dominant once more.

"We're here sir" the cab driver stated causing Ookami to look at the cab's fare machine and notice that it was off.

"What about the-" Ookami began only for the driver to pull out his manual.

"Don't you read any of the things we got plastered on thins thing? We got a flat rate" the driver replied causing Ookami to look and notice the rate of 1,328 yen being the rate. Ookami easily paid the far and after being helped to unload his things and children from the cab by the driver watched as it slowly drove away into the darkness. Taking a deep breath Ookami shouldered his bag and made his way towards the turnstiles and purchased a ticket for him and his children before sitting and waited for the train to arrive. As the seconds went by Ookami felt as though he was constantly looking left and right to make sure that no one was watching him. He'd long since crossed the point of no return he had no job and no apartment to go home to he'd put himself on a path from which there was diverging. He didn't want to think of what might happen if he was caught, being separated from Ame and Yuki was beyond harsh it was cruel. As he hear the sound of the train pulling into the station Ookami raised his head before shouldering his bag and carried his still sleeping children on the luggage he had and made his way onto the train, ignoring the glances he received as he took his seat. Quietly and calmly he felt the jerk of the train as it began to move forwards and watched as the train station slowly began to move away and then gradually faded off into the distance. He was over the hill but he was by no means out of the woods; he still had a village to get to, a house to buy, a job to obtain, and children to raise but at least now his last task was no longer in jeopardy instead it was a certainty.


End file.
